Push button



July 6, 1948. s. BRANTINGSON PUSH BUTTON 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Oct. 9,1945 Fl6.i

' I INVENTOR. SIGURD BRANTINGSON ATTORNE).

s. BRANTINGSON.

PUSH BUTTON July 6, 1948. 2,444,552

Filed Oct. 9, 1945 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 HI! I 35 JNVENTOR. SIGURDBRANTINGSON ATTORNEX Patented July 6, 1948 UNITED STATES PATENT QFFICEriisH Barron I Sigurd B rantings'on; Maplewood,- Ni J., assigno' N13tgne-lhalf to Bruno Martinuzzi, New York,

Application October 9, 1945, Serial No. 621,323

4 Claims. (C1. 200 -159) My invention relates to a push button forcompleting electric circuits and particularly to an electric switchoperated by a spring retracted button. Among the'purposes and objects ofmy invention are to provide:

A switch connecting an electric circuit through a conical spring.

A push button switch having a sliding contact to change the contactpoints.

A push button switch having a plastic insulated body and plasticbuttonoperator.

A push button removably and quickly secured in place. 7

A new and novel construction reducing the number of parts and increasingthe reliability of a push button switch.

I accomplish these and other objects by the construction hereindescribed and shown in the accompanying drawings forming a part of this,my disclosure.

In the drawings:

Fig. 1 is an elevation.

Fig. 2 is a longitudinal section at the axial 'cen-' terline.

Fig. 3 is a bottom plan view With-the keeper disc and terminalsremoved.-

Fig. 4 is a top plan View with the push button and'contact springremoved. 7

Fig. 5 is a plan view of one of the contacts.

Fig. 6 is anelevation of one of the contacts.

Fig. 7 is an elevation of the push button.

Fig. 8 is an elevation of the'body.

Fig. 9 is a plan view of the contact spring.

Fig. 10 is an elevation of the contact spring.

Fig. 11 is an elevation of the contact spring completely compressed.

Fig. 12 is a bottom plan view of the body.

Fig. 13 is a plan of the keeper disc.

Fig. 14 is an elevation of the keeper disc.

Fig. 15 is a plan of one of the securing springs.

Fig. 16 is an elevation of one of the securing springs.

Similar reference characters refer to'similar parts throughout theseveral views of the drawings and in thespecifications;

Push button switches are often easily rendered inoperative by dirt orcorrosion and the metal bodies easily short circuited.

The operations for assembling the numerous parts and the number of partsto be assembled surface it of i the contactsthereby toiassist in 2 Iscribed my preferred construction in precise netail so that my pushbutton: may b'ein'ore easily understood byone skilled in' the art.Thepreciseness of detailor this specification is notintended to'li mitthe scope 'of my patent asit is believed that the details may bemodified in many respects without departing from the principles whichunderlie my invention; a study of this disclosure mays lgg'estmodifications;

Referring to the drawings, the button'opera'tor E isshown-a's having itsexposed facez normally projecting above the top end 3- of the body 4whichis recessed'5 to permit the button' operator to freely move axiallyby overcoming the conical contact springtg the upper sm'all'end I ofwhich rests against the center hub 8 on the under side 9 of the operatorI. 1

The recess 5terininates sufficie'ntly-below'the bottom-side Qto permitthe travel of the button and also to provide-for the'la'r'ge end of thesprings to seat in thebottom ID of the recess.

The bottom lil of the recess al'so'serves as a stop against which thehub8 r'e'sts when the operator is forced completely down.

The conical spring 6 is so constructed-that each of its cbils may passtheadlacent coils until the several coils may be brought on ac'ommon'plane' or lie flat, asshown in' Fig'. 11 of the drawings; Thecoils, however, are prevented from'ass'uming this extreme position byengaging with the conta'cts H and I2 andthus completing the'electriccircuit.

The contacts H and I2 are preferably SOl'fifiwhat tapered conical orpointed I3 to cause the coils of thesp'ring to slide on the inclinedconical keeping'the contacting parts clean'and free "from dirt and'corro'sion.

Thaconical spring 6-, inadditionto completing the circuit b'etween'thecontacts II and' I2, forces the operator to return 'to its normalposition when pressureapplied to the face. 2 by. the finger of theperson-operating the 'push'button is released.

- The axialtravel ofthe' operator L'caused by the spring, is-restrictedby the center sleever I5 which is secured within'the hubli by the'gto'p'flanged end 56. The bottom endll'; after being inserted into the guideaperture" 19' below the bottom lzl-oi the recess 5 of the body l 'at'thecenter it thereof, is'fiared outwardly to" provide the head 20 whichengages the shoulder 2| at the top of the recess 22 which is of adiameter and length sufiicient to permit the head 20 to freely travelwith the operator.

The lower turns of the coil spring being larger in diameter are lessresistant to the movement of the button operator and make contact withthe points after slight movement of the button which becomes harder topush as the stop position is reached.

The sleeve 15 also serves as a guide cooperating with the buttonoperator; the operator freely slides axially in the recess and thesleeve in the guide aperture 19.

Each of the contacts H or I2 is preferably inserted into its respectiveaperture 23 or 24 which is provided with a squared recess 25 or 26 inthe bottom face 21 of the body 4 to receive the squared heads 26 of thecontacts. Each contact is also threaded internally to receive theterminal screws 28 and .29 which detachably secure the wires 30 and 3|which are connected to the terminals 32 and 33, thereby providing thenecessary electrical connections to the device.

The contacts H and [2 are secured into the body from removal by theinsulated keeper disc 34 which is secured to the body by the integralstuds 35 and 36 which extend through the countersunk apertures 31 and 33after which the studs are formed into the heads 39 by heat and pressureto secure the keeper disc in place against the bottom of the body.

In addition to the squared recesses 25 and 2B in the bottom face 21 ofthe body are the irregular shaped recesses 40 and 41 from the topsurface of which the studs 35 and 36 depend downwardly. The recesses 40and 4| conform to and receive the securing springs 42 which are alsoheld in place by the keeper disc 34 and the studs 35 and 36.

The securing springs extend upwardly on the outside of the body toprovide four upwardly extending resilient prongs 43.

The prongs 43 are preferably bent 44 near their free ends 45 to provideyielding detents to engage the panel or other object 46 to which thedevice may .be detachably secured; the panel or other device, shown bybroken lines Fig. 2, may be a wall or desk top or the like which hasbeen provided with a suitable hole to receive the body'and springsleaving the turned over top end 3 of the body 4 above, thesurface. Theentire push button may be removed by inserting any thin tool such as a.knife under the edge 41 of the end 3.

The terminals 32 and 33 and the wires 30 and 3| may be swung to thepositions shown by broken lines in Fig. 2 to permit my device to beinserted into holes in material which is of a depth which wouldinterfere with the wires; the wires and entire push button beinginserted in the hole.

The securing springs are preferably formed integral in pairs as shownparticularly in Figs. and 16. The part 48 connecting the pair of springsconforms to and is secured in one of the recesses 40 or 4| and theaperture 49 engages one of the studs 35 or 36.

The keeper disc 34 is provided with the clearance holes 50 which permitthe screws 28 and 29 to pass through to engage the threads in thecontacts H and i2.

The simple construction and ease of assembling my'device permit theparts to be made in small sizes, however, the size may vary to suit theparticular service desired. Many of the parts may be made of plastic andthe others of non-corrosive metal so that dampness and fumes whichrender many types of [push buttons inoperative after a short period ofuse do not affect the operation of my device.

Having thus described a preferred construction of my push buttonembodying the underlying principles of my invention, which I claim asnew and desire to secure by Letters Patent is set forth in the followingclaims.

I claim:

I 1. In a push button switch or the like, having a pressable buttonoperator and a body guiding the movement of the operator, a conicalspring and a plurality of conical contacts connected by said spring whensaid operator is pressed, said conical contacts engaging the coils ofsaid conical spring whereby the latter is adapted to slide on saidconical contacts to wipe the contacting parts and to cause several coilsof the conical spring to engage said contacts in sequence one after theother.

2. In a push button switch or the like, having a pressable buttonoperator and a body guiding the movement of the operator, a conicalspring and a plurality of conical contacts connected by said spring whensaid operator is pressed, said conical contacts engaging the coils ofsaid conical spring whereby the latter is adapted to slide on saidconical contacts to Wipe the contacting parts, said conical springoperating said pressible button in one direction of travel.

3. In a push button switch or the like, having a pressable buttonoperator and a body guiding the movement of the operator, a conicalspring and a plurality of conical contacts connected by said spring whensaid operator is pressed, said conical contacts engaging the coils ofsaid conical spring whereby the latter is adapted to slide on saidconical contacts to wipe the contacting parts, said conical springforming helical coils substantially on a common plane when fullycompressed.

4. In a push button switch or the like having a pressable buttonoperator and a body guiding the movement of the operator, a conicalspring and a plurality of contacts having sloping sides suitable toengage one or more of the coils of said spring whereby the latter isadapted to slide on and wipe said sloping sides of the contacts whensaid button is pressed.

SIGURD BRANTINGSON.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the fileof'this patent:

UNITED STATES, PATENTS Number Name Date 30,567 Plassmann June 9, 1903996,303 Wilhelm June 27, 1911 1,085,215 Lungen Jan. 27, 1914 1,842,524Hansen Jan. 26, 1932 1,861,400 Miller May 31, 1932 FOREIGN PATENTSNumber Country Date 328,811 England May 8, 1930

